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5.21.2011

I ordered 2 new drop spindles from Spinerosity earlier this week and they arrived yesterday. One is a full-size lace weight, the other is a mini-spindle that was just too adorable (and too reasonably priced) to pass up.

I decided to play with some Norwegian undyed top (I think it's top) on the mini-spindle and am soooo glad I did. It was ridiculously fun to spin with and I think has really really helped me get a bit better at drafting. For the non-fiber fanatics who read the blog drafting is pretty much pulling fiber apart enough to create a thread of desired thickness via twist from spinning the spindle without pulling too much and having the spindle drop. If you don't pull fiber apart enough you wind up with thick, chunky yarn, if you pull too much the fiber can't sustain the weight of the spindle and breaks.

I have a spindle I bought for my birthday last year that is a bit heavier and in the range for medium weight yarns and recommended for beginners. While I've made some progress with it, I had big problems drafting, mostly with my yarn being waaaay thicker than I wanted.

The smaller, lighter mini-spindle seems to have really, really helped me get the hang of drafting and general hand motion. I'm still doing park-and-draft, but I'm getting better at it.

5.20.2011

Image by AJC1 via Flickr...I will probably be very embarrassed about the pointing and laughing.

And on that off chance, I figured I'd better post something in case the internet goes away or something.

Anyway, I haven't been posting much lately because of stupid health stuff - migraines and thyroid meds and buhhh.

Yesterday I got my Botox shots for migraines which is pretty cool. If you have issues with needles, you may want to avoid reading the rest of the post.

I had thought I was over my tendency to faint when needles are involved - I don't mind injections or blood draws and have even made it through cannula insertion for MRI contrast without fainting, and had trigger point injections a few months ago. I took a Klonopin yesterday morning just in case.

My neurologist got a few injections in before I felt all light-headed and fainty. Fortunately, I felt brave enough to say "um, can I lie down, I feel a bit light-headed." I say "brave" because for years I've always felt ashamed and embarrassed by this happening and needing to accommodate it and felt like I needed to just suck it up and deal and stop wasting people's time. Never mind that it really isn't something I can consciously control.

Fortunately, my doctor has a wonderful bedside manner and had no problem at all. I think the fact that all the blood drains from my face when this happens probably helps. She was really good about chattering to distract me without being annoying and not trying to rush and getting me a cool cloth and some water and a hot resident to stare at for the rest of the injections. I actually closed my eyes for the remainder, but I appreciated the thought. :)

Overall, the injections themselves weren't that bad. Maybe 2 or 3 hurt enough for me to hiss a bit but the rest were just that pinchy-sting that is normal (for me) for injections or blood draws.

I was fine after lying still a bit more when we were done and made it to another appointment and then home with no problem.

The effects build up over time, so it's been really interesting to feel a sort of tingling numbness spread out from the injection sites.

They're given in sort of a hat-band pattern between the eyes, by the eyebrows, the around the side of the head and down the neck and across the top of the shoulder. The neck and shoulder for me were the ones we're really hoping will help as I've developed some dystonia related to migraines in my right neck and shoulder.

My face still moves around normally. I spent most of the bus ride home yesterday making funny faces and poking myself to see if I still had sensation, so I was totally the crazy lady on the bus yesterday.

I have a bit of a headache today, which is normal, and I can still feel the gradual expansion of tingly from the injection sites. At the back of my head especially it feels almost like I'm developing a migraine but like lidocaine instead of migraine pain spreading. Very weird and kind of cool.

I go back next week for a follow-up and a longer general visit. The effects of the Botox are supposed to take a week or 10 days to take effect and last 30-90 days. I think the most frequent you can have injections is every 90 days.

I'm really, really hoping this will reduce or eliminate most of my migraines. If it does it may also mean that I'm a candidate for surgery to do permanently what the Botox does temporarily. That would be wonderful.
Two or three days a week of migraine is just not okay.

5.03.2011

Image via WikipediaMy thyroid is being stupid again so we're fiddling with Synthroid doses. I've also been having a dreadful time with migraines and trying to catch up after the 2-week span of evil pestilence cold.

Anyway, hopefully the new Synthroid dose will get me back in the sweet spot of not too high, not too low and maybe help the migraines.

I've finally decided to give CoQ10 supplements a trial too. There is good, if preliminary evidence from limited trials for migraine prevention. The supplements are a pricey, which has made me hesitate trying it, but I'm desperate. So, 100mg 3 times a day for 3 months and we'll see if it helps.

I've tried getting back to daily exercise after slacking off for most of the winter (because I couldn't bear to take my slippers and socks off to use the Wii in the cold) and managed to over do it Sunday and am paying for it today. Because CFS needed to remind me it owns my ass, I guess. Anyway, finding the right amount of exercise will help the migraines too. My neuro did warn me that too much can be as bad as too little. Fun.

I've been trying to discipline myself to meditate a bit in the mornings too, but I have trouble taking the time. It feels like "wasting time" even though it may help.

Better news though is that the blood pressure med we've tried for migraine prevention is at least helping with my heart rate - it's no longer sky high all the damn time. So, um, yay.

It's also gotten cold again but not quite cold enough for the boiler to be back on for the radiators. My hands and feet are screaming with Raynaud's and even my lips were purple earlier today. And Oreo and I have been fighting over the heating pad.